Netflix Finds New Ways to Humiliate Its Competitors

As we talked about yesterday, Netflix is currently winning the strike. They’re freeing up cash by not paying writers and actors for content, and they have enough content in the bank to outlast their competitors, some of whom stand to lose a lot if the networks lose scripted content in the fall.

Interestingly, I’ve read two pieces this morning that echoed the sentiment that Netflix is eating its rivals’ lunch. Some of the sources that spoke to Josef Adalian over on Vulture, however, suggested that maybe they’re okay with it. Though the networks are still profitable, they might be fine with hastening their demise, especially because the companies that own those networks also have streaming businesses. The streaming executives are tired of dealing with the old-school side of the business. I genuinely don’t know how true that is, but what I do know is that 1) networks are still profitable, but 2) the reason why we often cite Abbott Elementary and Ghosts when talking about the lack of a fall network schedule is that I can’t think of many shows besides those two (and really, only Abbott) that I’d miss terribly if the networks disappeared. And what’s to stop Disney from airing Abbott on Hulu, or Paramount from airing Ghosts on its streaming platform? That’s where most of us end up seeing those shows anyway. Moreover, because the networks are still getting carriage fees from cable operators and affiliate fees from local stations, they’re not hurting as badly as some may think.

But they’re still hurting, and if the strikes are protracted, it could mean the broadcast networks go bye-bye, which means there’d be no reason to subscribe to cable except for cable news, which means there would be no more reason to subscribe to cable at all.

Another article over on Puck asked why the legacy studios behind the networks — NBC/Universal, Disney, Paramount — aren’t peeling away and striking their own deals with SAG/WGA. But the article also posits that a protracted strike could have the opposite effect:

Analyst Michael Pachter … argued that Netflix might actually break from the AMPTP to settle first — and screw over the rest of the industry in the process. If Netflix is now making so much money in streaming, he argued, it could afford to give the talent more of what they want, which would, in turn, blow away the traditional rivals. Those rivals would be forced to accept onerous terms they couldn’t afford.

That’s cutthroat, but I wouldn’t put it past Netflix. After all, the streamer earned $6.5 billion last year, while the other three network-affiliated streamers — Disney+, Paramount+, and Peacock — lost $8 billion.

It’s the kind of beat-them-with-their-own-bat strategy that Netflix has employed with the most-watched series in all of streaming right now. It’s the first show to cross 2 billion minutes viewed in four months. Was it Black Mirror? The Lincoln Lawyer? Witcher? Nope. The most-watched series in streaming is … Suits.

Guess who owns Suits? NBC/Universal, the studio behind Peacock, where Suits is also available. But those 2 billion hours are not coming from Peacock. They’re coming from Netflix, which is a bit like pulling out someone’s heart and making them watch while they die. Grey’s Anatomy, an ABC series, took sixth place.

At least the studios get licensing fees from Netflix, although it is my understanding that the writers/actors on licensed shows that are incredibly popular on Netflix see very little benefit. This means that Meghan Markle ain’t seeing any significant residuals for the most-watched series in all of streaming right now.

For those of you just starting Suits, by the way, welcome. But also, the waters are going to get choppy in those later seasons. Still better than The Golden Bachelor.